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LAST UPDATE | 11 May
POPE LEO XIV appeared at the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica this afternoon for his first Sunday blessing and said he is “deeply pained by what is happening” in Gaza.
The first American pope today made his first public appearance since becoming pontiff from that same balcony where he was announced as the leader of the Catholic Church.
He presided over the Regina Caeli (Queen of Heaven) prayer.
Usually, the Angelus prayer would be delivered on a Sunday but during the Easter season – the 50-day period between Easter Sunday and Pentecost – this is replaced by the prayer dedicated to Mary.
Large crowds were in attendance up to two hours before the prayer and those from Peru were in loud voice – Leo XIV is a Peruvian citizen and spent over 20 years in the country.
Pope Leo XIV will make his Regina Coeli address in about an hour and a half. As you can see below, Peruvians are very happy with the new pope. Leo XIV became a Peruvian citizen after spending over 20 years in the country. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/s2I6IC9Xi0
— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) May 11, 2025
Marching bands also made their way to the Square – it’s a Jubilee Year within the Church and this weekend is the Jubilee of bands and popular music.
It’s a Jubilee Year within the Catholic Church and this weekend is the Jubilee of bands and popular music. The Mexican marching bands are out in full strength @thejournal_ie #PopeLeoXIV pic.twitter.com/ocdDeslg4H
— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) May 11, 2025
Addressing the faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square, the new pope echoed the words of his predecessor Pope Francis said: “In today’s dramatic context of a third world war fought piecemeal, I too appeal to the powerful of the world by repeating these ever-relevant words: never again war!”
“I carry in my heart the suffering of the beloved Ukrainian people,” he said, urging that “every effort be made to reach a true, just, and lasting peace as soon as possible”.
He also said he is “deeply pained by what is happening” in Gaza.
“Let the fighting cease immediately, let humanitarian aid be provided to the exhausted civilian population, and may all hostages be released,” said the new pope.
Pope Leo XIV appeals for peace in Gaza and Ukraine, and between India and Pakistan.
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) May 11, 2025
"I carry in my heart the sufferings of the beloved Ukrainian people. Let everything possible be done to achieve an authentic, just and lasting peace as soon as possible. May all the prisoners be… pic.twitter.com/lLP2vV8CPe
He also welcomed the recent announcement of a ceasefire between India and Pakistan and added: “I hope that, through the upcoming negotiations, a lasting agreement may soon be reached.”
Meanwhile, there have only been two popes from English speaking countries; Pope Adrian IV in the 12th century and Pope Leo XIV.
The new pope spoke no English when he was presented as pontiff on Thursday, and also spoke no English today.
Perhaps he is mindful that as well as being pope to the global Church, he is also the Bishop of Rome and therefore speaking Italian is important.
Yesterday turned out to be a busy day for the new pope, who made a visit to the tomb of his predecessor Pope Francis within the Santa Maria Maggiore.
Vatican News published a photo of the white-robed American pope kneeling before Francis’s simple marble tomb.
Earlier on Saturday, less than 48 hours after he was elected Pope, Leo XIV also made his first visit outside the Vatican, travelling to the Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano, just outside Rome.
Pope Leo visits the shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano, outside of Rome.
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) May 10, 2025
The sanctuary has been run by the Augustinian Order (of which Pope Leo was a part) since the Middle Ages. pic.twitter.com/Vq53bodvFS
The new pope also met with cardinals yesterday and revealed in this meeting that he chose the papal name Leo “mainly because of Pope Leo XIII’s historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum”.
This document, a response to the state of industrial society in the late 19th century, explicitly outlined worker’s rights to a fair wage, safe working conditions and the right to belong to a trade union.
He remarked that today there is “another industrial revolution in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour”.
Elsewhere, Leo XIV will meet the international press on Monday at the Paul VI Audience Hall in the Vatican.
This first meeting with journalists can give a good indication as to how the new pope will carry himself.
When Pope Benedict XVI greeted journalists for the first time in the Paul VI Hall, he took no questions and departed after less than 20 minutes.
But with Pope Francis in 2013, there was a very noticeable step change.
He called for a “poor Church for the poor” and explained that he chose his papal name because of St. Francis of Assisi, who Francis described as a “man of poverty and a man of peace”.
He also spoke about the conclave and revealed that one Cardinal approached Francis when he was elected and “told me not to forget the poor”.
“And that word went in here,” said Francis, pointing to his head.
And while Benedict from a script and promptly departed, Francis spoke mostly off the cuff, was making jokes and smiling throughout, and greeted the service dog of a visually impaired journalist.
Francis also offered a silent “cordial” blessing to the journalists gathered, acknowledging that many gathered were not Catholic.
“Since many of you are not members of the Catholic Church, and others are not believers, I cordially give this blessing silently, to each of you, respecting the conscience of each, but in the knowledge that each of you is a child of God.”
After meeting the press tomorrow, Leo XIV’s next major item is a meeting with the Vatican’s Diplomatic Corps on Friday, 16 May.
And on Sunday, 18 May, an inaugural Mass will be held in St Peter’s Square to formally mark the beginning of his pontificate.
From there, Leo will hold his first General Audience, which are held on Wednesday mornings at St Peter’s Square.
And on Saturday 24 May he will meet with the Roman Curia, the government of the Catholic Church, and Vatican City State employees.
The following day, Sunday 25 May, the new pope’s routine will be settling into place and he will deliver a Regina Caeli prayer from St Peter’s.
Meanwhile, when a pope dies, all the cardinals and archbishops in charge of departments in the Roman Curia, including the secretary of state, lose their jobs.
The Camerlengo however, Irish-born Cardinal Kevin Farrell who effectively ran the Church during the “sede vacante” period where there was no pope, was an exception to this.
Leo XIV has said he wants the heads of the Roman Curia to continue in their roles “on a provisional basis”.
The Vatican press office added: “Pope Leo XIV maintains the right to ‘a certain amount of time for reflection, prayer, and dialogue’ before making any “definitive appointments or confirmations.”
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